Mentos are a candy that I really don’t have very often. I can’t really say why, since I remember their commercials from my 80s childhood and they always seemed appealing. As I got older I really liked their strawberry flavor and recall it being a “special treat’ when I was able to try some when a friend bought a roll. For something that feels so special to me, I’m surprised why I don’t buy them more often. Regardless, when I see an new and unique flavor of them, of course I’m buying one to try! I saw this roll of Mentos DUO at Cost Plus World Market, and I was beyond delighted to see that they had some Mentos imported from Holland. Yes please!

The package looks almost identical to the ones sold here in the United States. The only things that hinted that it was foreign was that it had a strange flavor and the import sticker that’s on the side. The wrapper is incredible colorful and pretty, with images of strawberries and lime slices. It’s a very bright and fun red/green color combination.

The dragees are pastel pink and smell very strongly of strawberry. The chew starts off very sweet and flavorful of the strawberries you get in the aroma. It’s sweet and slightly floral with a hint of cotton candy. The chew is soft and inviting, and you easy start working away at it. The strawberry flavor persists until your start getting toward the center. That’s where the lime flavor shows up. The lime flavor isn’t terribly tart, but it does have a vibrant citrus quality to it. The flavor actually blends beautifully with the strawberry instead of clashing with it. Buy the time the lime is at it’s full flavor strength, the dragee is all but chewed up. So the lime taste gradually sweetens and fades away.

I enjoyed this flavor a lot, and I know a lot of my friends who would enjoy it too. I have to admit though, as tasty as it was, after a few pieces I was really satisfied and didn’t feel the need to have any more. I like how Mentos is packaged like that, it’s easy to take however much you want, twist the wrapper and store for later. I certainly appreciated the unique flavor and hope to try more of what the Mentos from Holland have to offer.

When I was very early in my candy writing career, Chuao Chocolatier was one of the very first “gourmet” chocolate companies that I became very well acquainted with. Back then I wrote for Candyaddict.com, and easily wroteseveralarticles regarding Chuao’s extensive chocolate line. Since then, I’ve done my best to keep up with the new chocolate bars and flavors they’ve introduced. Now that I live in Los Angeles, visiting one of their cafes is also on my to-do list. The point I am trying to make is I’m a big fan, and I was very pleased to find one of their newest bars in Cost Plus World Market recently. May I present, the Potato Chip Bar.

Yes, you read that right. Potato Chip. I really admire how Chuao Chocolatier, much like Vosges, just goes there with their more offbeat flavors. They branch out from the stranger chocolate flavors (like sea salt and chili) that are slowly becoming more mainstream. Flavors like honeycomb (the candy variety), panko, and even pop rocks are fair game to Chuao Chocolatier. The bar comes in an eye catching wrapper that is in the style from their “classic” range of chocolate bars. It goes from golden to bronze. The shapes of cacao pods decorate the edges, and the wording on the front is centered and clear.

The chocolate is a pretty medium brown color. On the back, you can see the light yellow flecks of the potato chips blended into the chocolate. The chocolate has a nice snap, but the break is not clean. The potato chips cause some rough edges and crumbling.

The the flavor starts out very creamy and sweet. The milk chocolate has intense flavor of milk, cream and caramel. It’s a very milky milk chocolate. You get some really nice chocolate flavor once the milky notes dissolve away. It’s a little sad, because as soon as the chocolate flavors arrive they’re immediately drowned out by the saltiness and flavor of the potato chips. The chips are pleasantly salty and have that nice crisp, starchy flavor. It stands out alone to me, as it doesn’t really mingle with the flavors of the chocolate since it appears right at the end. It’s a little disappointing since I wanted a chocolate and potato chip experience, but the flavors read separately so it’s hard to really get the together. The only way I found to resolve this is to later bites at once, but I don’t like feeling I have to gobble a chocolate bar to get the intended flavor fusion.

This bar is unique and that’s something I really appreciate. I liked the saltiness the bar had, but after eating this bar for a bit made me wonder if potato chips are the best way to get that salty kick in a chocolate bar. They do add a subtle starchy flavor to the chocolate, and also a slightly crunchy texture. Like all candy, such a preference depends on the person. You have to try it to find out if you like it, which I encourage to do with this bar. Plus, there’s the bagging rights of having eaten a chocolate bar with potato chips in it.

There are times when I love Cost Plus World Market, and there’s times when I reeealllllyy love Cost Plus World Market. They are really great for candy hunting sometimes, and on one of my more recently trips there I struck candy gold. I found a bunch of interesting flavors of Mentos there, this Fresh Cola flavor one of them.

I’ve noticed that cola as a flavor is way more prominent in candy over in Europe than it is here in the Unites States. Honestly, the only “common” candy that I can think of that’s cola flavored is the Haribo Cola Bottles, and that’s not a domestic candy!I guess I’ve just proved my own point. I guess folks here just enjoy drinking the flavor too much. So finding this flavor in Mentos really felt special to me, since I don’t get cola flavored candy very often.

The package uses an attractive red color scheme (Coca Cola anyone?) and shows a carbonated glass of cola on the right side of he logo. It looks very fresh and invigorating. The candy dragees (as the package calls them) are a muted beige color and don’t have any aroma to mention. They feel hard and I’m unable to squeeze them in my fingers.

Popping one in my mouth, I immediate get the cola flavors as it feels like it just sizzles onto my taste buds. It’s sweet, it’s spicy and have a wonderful earthiness to it. Now, I know what you all are immediately wondering: what familiar soda does it taste like? Well, it’s about 85% Pepsi in flavor I’d say. I say 85% since I feel this flavor is more complex. I get more spice and fruity flavors in these Mentos than I do wit Pepsi. This might be because Pepsi is, as a drink, not as concentrated as a flavored candy would be. Also I think that every one had as different idea as to what “cola” tastes like. The texture is nice, as they’re easily chewed and aren’t too sticky.

I really enjoyed these. I’m glad I bought two rolls of them at the time. They’re fun to eat, very flavorful, and the texture is fun. I also love how you can just have a few, twist the top of the package and you have more for later. Point being, these were awesome. The flavor is refreshingly different, and I encourage you to try them if you ever happen upon them. Or any cola candy for that matter.